Transfer targets are hard enough to find under normal circumstances. But positional juggling and no technical director makes it harder for Chelsea.
Injuries are piling up and they are forcing Maurizio Sarri to show his hand. But form has also forced the Italian manager to shuffle the deck and see if the new hands works better. On its own, that would not be too much of an issue. But during a transfer window it throws a wrench into things.
Add in the fact that Chelsea still (somehow despite all common sense) lacks a replacement for Michael Emenalo as technical director and transfer targets become very difficult to find. Does Chelsea need a striker? That depends on whether Eden Hazard is a striker now or not. What about a winger? Depends on whether Ruben Loftus-Cheek or Emerson are wingers now.
The question becomes whether Sarri is just patching holes or looking for a long term solution. The follow up question is where the market comes in to patch holes after that. The right hand does not know what the left hand is doing and the ship has no captain. Chelsea is pressing forward without really knowing where they are pressing forward to.
Chelsea is linked to tons of strikers which more or less guarantees that they are looking for someone in that position even if a name is unknown. But how does that calculus change now that Sarri sees Hazard as a viable option?
Well if Hazard is going to remain up top, then the board does not need to look for an elite striker. A decent one who can do a job, such as Callum Wilson, will do. But what if Hazard is only a stop gap to Sarri until someone elite can come in?
This knocks down to midfield as well. If Ruben Loftus-Cheek is a winger now, does Chelsea need to find another midfielder such as Nicolo Barella? If Sarri sees Loftus-Cheek as a winger that is fine but if he is only there as a stop gap then the Blues need to be looking for a winger. But like the Hazard situation, the board needs to know whether to look for a starter or depth. And without a clear idea, they run the risk of making the mistake of getting the wrong one.
If Chelsea had a technical director, this situation could be eased. The technical director would better understand what Sarri is doing and could react accordingly. The board does not have that ability. They will pursue the targets they think Sarri needs with little to no consolation of the man himself. The board will not ask whether he wants depth or a starter, or if he even needs anyone at all. And because the in column is forever linked to the out column, there is also the chance that someone heads out that was not meant to.
In short, Sarri’s late positional changes to some players has been used to solve issues and he is within his rights to do that. But the board will not know how to react. Hazard up top might make them think they no longer need to pursue a striker. Loftus-Cheek wide might make them believe that another midfielder is needed. The result is a squad put together by a committee that may or may not understand the needs.
This goes back to the vacant technical director chair. There is no one with a long term vision so the targets are made by committee and they may or may not be run by Sarri as a rubber stamp rather than for his approval. How this window shakes out and the aftermath will be interesting.